Victory for the North Korean side means they will appear at next year’s Fifa Women’s Champions Cup, which features the champions of each of the six continental confederations.
There were officially no away supporters at Saturday’s game because of travel restrictions between North and South Korea.
However, about 1,200 members of civic groups backed by Seoul’s unification ministry attended the final.
Coach Ri and Kim, who scored the match winner, later walked out of the news conference after a South Korean reporter asked them a question that referred to their country as the “north side”.
“All of our players focused solely on winning today’s match, putting in the effort while cherishing every minute and second,” explained Ri.
“I did not have the time or room to concern myself with various other issues.”
Speaking prior to the semi-final, South Korea’s Unification Minister Chund Dong-young said the game would set a “positive precedent” for inter-Korean relations.
The two Koreas are technically still at war after failing to sign a peace treaty when the Korean War ended in 1953.
Attempts have been made to improve relations since, but ties between the two countries have deteriorated in recent years, with North Korea labelling South Korea its “most hostile state” and saying it would no longer seek reunification.
South Korean â President Lee Jae Myung, however, is seeking to improve ​ties.
